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Finished 3rd M30 after a puncture in the opening 100 metres

A huge nail in the first 100 metres. A podium by the finish.

XCM Rotor and Robin 2026 brought a 60 km, two-lap Bilogora marathon to Glogovac near Koprivnica, Croatia. A double puncture left me last early on; 3:57:25 later, the day ended third in Men 30-39.

Event
XCM Rotor&Robin 2026
Date
August 23, 2026
Location
Glogovac, Koprivnica, Croatia
Route
Long course
3rd M30
Category result

A Men 30-39 podium after restarting the race from last place.

60 km
Long course

1,400 m of official climbing over two Bilogora laps.

3:57:25
Official time

17th overall for bib 16, racing for No Life Crew.

201 W
Weighted power

164 W average power from the race start through the official finish.

Race video

Huge Puncture in the First 100m! | XCM Rotor & Robin 2026

This film follows the two-lap Bilogora race from the puncture in the first 100 metres through the repair, the chase from last place, and the Men 30-39 podium in Glogovac.

Watch on YouTube
Back on course with bib 16 after the opening puncture: the recovery began one rider at a time.

Opening note

One repair, then a long chase from the back of the field.

The tyre repair took roughly 15 to 20 minutes and the field disappeared. Once the sealant and plugs held, the only useful decision was to restart and race every kilometre that remained.

Opening note

The race was barely 100 metres old when a nail made it feel over.

XCM Rotor and Robin 2026 was meant to be a familiar kind of Croatian marathon: two long-course laps through Bilogora, fast forest riding, and enough climbing to make every group matter.

Instead, a 15 centimetre nail went through the tyre in the opening 100 metres. It made two holes, stopped the race immediately, and left me at the side of the course working through the problem while the field disappeared.

Three tyre plugs and roughly 15 to 20 minutes later, the tyre held. By then I was last, but the day was still there to be raced.

The ordinary pre-race calm at Glogovac, before the long course split into two Bilogora laps.

The reset

Once the tyre held, the only useful target was the next rider ahead.

There was no sensible way to recover the opening position all at once. The restart had to be simple: ride hard, make clean decisions, and see how much of the race could still be rebuilt before the finish.

That reset changed the day. A lost result would have been easy to accept after the mechanical, but continuing gave the course a different kind of purpose.

The puncture was frustrating, not dramatic. It was simply a problem that had to be fixed before the race could begin again.

Long course

Two Bilogora laps made every comeback move earn its place.

The official long course is 60 kilometres with 1,400 metres of climbing, built as two laps through the forests and hills around Glogovac and Koprivnica.

That repetition makes the route honest. The second lap does not introduce a new puzzle; it asks whether the pace, handling, and focus from the first lap can still be carried when the legs have started to negotiate.

The complete recording reached 61.9 kilometres and 1,881 metres of raw climbing. The official course figures and the recording are both useful, but they describe different things and stay clearly separated in this report.

Race effort

The recovery became a steady chase rather than one big gamble.

From the 10:30 start through the official finish, the race window averaged 164 W with 201 W weighted power. That gap reflects a course where climbing and accelerations alternate with quick descents and coasting.

Heart rate averaged 168 bpm and reached 193 bpm. The biggest share of time landed in Z4, which fits a chase that needed to be persistent without turning every pass into a short-lived attack.

The chart window keeps the puncture in the race story while removing the pre-start and post-finish recording. It is a cleaner view of the effort that carried the day from last place toward the podium.

Result

A mechanical disaster at the start ended as a Men 30-39 podium.

I finished the long course in 3:57:25, 17th overall and 17th male, with third place in Men 30-39 for No Life Crew.

The result was satisfying because it did not come from a perfect day. It came after the race had already gone wrong, which made every later decision matter more.

The finish did not erase the puncture, but it changed its meaning. The opening delay became the first chapter of a race that was still worth finishing properly.

The result that looked very unlikely less than 100 metres into the race: third in Men 30-39.

Why return

Rotor and Robin keeps the racing close to the people who make it happen.

BK Rotor Koprivnica and Robin marketi put together more than a route: registration, timing, feed zones, food, volunteers, and a finish area that kept the day social after the hard work stopped.

That local energy belongs in the story as much as the GPS trace. It is why a compact forest marathon can still feel like a proper event weekend.

For this race, the cleanest summary is still the simplest one: a huge nail, a long repair, a restart from last, and a place on the podium.

The Rotor and Robin team after building a full day of racing, food, timing, and a very welcome finish line.

Effort window

Both charts are race-window only: the official 10:30 start through the 3:57:25 finish. The 2m 56s pre-start and 1m 15s post-finish recording are excluded; the opening puncture remains part of race time. The full GPX retains the excluded pre-start and post-finish bookends for map and profile context.

Heart rate distribution

168 bpm average and 193 bpm maximum, with the largest share of race time in Z4 (167-177 bpm).

Power distribution

164 W average and 201 W weighted power, with the restart, repeated climbs, and descents spread across the full power range.

Route and access

Official course, full recording, and race window each tell a different truth.

The official XCM Rotor and Robin long course is 60 km with 1,400 m. The complete supplied GPX is 61.9 km with 1,881 m, including pre-start and post-finish recording. The race window is 61.3 km with 1,878 m, matching the time used for the effort charts.

The downloadable GPX records race day rather than a universal riding recommendation. Confirm local access and trail conditions with BK Rotor Koprivnica before planning an independent ride.

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